Rack for ribbon rolls



March 31, 1964 B. u. DOWER 3,127,017

RACK FOR RIBBON ROLLS Filed Nov. 2, 1961 INVENTOR ATTORNEY5 UnitedStates Patent 3,127,017 RACK FOR RIBBON ROLLS Bud U. Dower, R0. Box 158,Wheatland, Wyo. Filed Nov. 2, 1961, Ser. No. 149,641 1 Claim. (Cl.211-13) This invention relates to a rack for simultaneously holding aseries of rolls or spools containing ribbon, for dispensing.

In keeping with cultural trends, and public fancy, ornamental wrapping,especially in florists shops, but also in the gift wrapping of generalmerchandise, on a commercial scale, has been constantly on the increase,which has given rise to the use of great quantities of ribbon, in avariety of widths, colors and patterns, and the activity has become adistinct specialty in the art of merchandising. As a necessaryconsequence of this effort, the problem of ready access to a supply ofribbon in variety, usually involving a plurality of workers, has arisen.Heretofore, this problem, where it has been dealt with at all with aview to a methodical solution, has been met in more or less primitivefashion, by merely mounting a plurality of supply rolls on a horizontalbar. While this is considerably preferable to a haphazard system whereinthe rolls merely lie scattered about a table, it nevertheless retainscertain objectionable features. For instance, replacement of an emptyroll by a loaded roll, in most cases, involves the temporary removal ofother rolls to effect the change. In the case where more than one workeris operating, this not only entails the interruption of the activity ofall concerned, but will usually also entail a further delay of thereplacement, until all jobs in progress have been completed. This is sobecause the entire job of applying the ribbon, including the formationof complex bows and rosettes, requires continuous dispensing from eachroll involved, without interruption.

Heretofore this problem has also been dealt with by mounting swingablehangers on a rack, but these hangers have been swingable backwardly onlythereby leaving several disadvantages. Should ribbon be drawn with ajerk from a roll mounted on this type of apparatus, it is apparent thatoverrunning of the roll would take place, thereby paying out an excessof ribbon which would easily be entangled with its own roll and possiblythe adjacent rolls. To prevent this overdrawing of ribbon, applicantsdevice is so constructed as to eliminate this possibility.

It is further apparent that while ribbon is payed out from the roll, theroll could easily become detached from the hanger unless some type ofholding means is placed on the end of the hanger to prevent this fromhappening.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide for asystem of dispensing ribbon from a plurality of rolls, said system beingso constructed as to prevent excess pay-out of ribbon from its roll.

Yet another object is to prevent detachment of a roll from its hangerwhile ribbon is being drawn from the roll.

These and other ends, which will be apparent, are attained by thepresent invention, which in a preferred embodiment, may be brieflydescribed as comprising a framework, having a cross-member with alongitudinal channel in its top face, a series of transverse slots,through the full depth of the member, opening through one side edge andcommunicating with the channel, and individual hanger rods, insertablethrough said slots, with transversely bent, upper ends engageable in thechannel and constituting a hinge therewith, and having, transverselybent, lower ends adapted to receive the tubular core of a ribbon roll,and said bent, lower end also having a bent, outer end to preventaccidental removal of the roll.

For a more detailed description of the invention, ref- 3,127,017;Patented Mar. 31, 1964 erence is made to the following specification, asillustrated in the drawing, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a front, elevational view of the complete rack, with somerolls of ribbon, indicated in broken lines, mounted on the hangers;

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view, taken on the line 2-2 of FIGURE 1,showing, in broken lines, an adjusted position of swing of the hanger;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary, sectional view, enlarged, of a detail, takenon the line 33 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 44 of FIGURE 3, alsoshowing an adjusted position of swing of the hanger, in broken lines;and

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of FIGURE 3.

Referring to the drawing by characters of reference, there is shown, inFIGURES 1 and 2, a wooden rack comprising an upright framework having abase It! of oblong, rectangular form, and a top piece 12 of similar sizeand shape, the two being connected by four, round corner columns 14,conveniently of dowel stock, fitted in blind bores 16 in the base, andblind bores 18 in the top piece. A mounting beam 20 is secured to theunder side of top piece 12, as by screws 22, in a face-to-face contact.While beam 20 has been shown as somewhat smaller in section than toppiece 12, the size is not critical, and its length will be determined inthe light of the number of roll hangers required, since these aredistributed along its length, as will be seen.

In its upper face, beam 20 has a relatively narrow, and shallow, channel24, near one side edge 21 of the beam, and extending throughout itslength, parallel to the side edges, the channel being indicated asrectangular in cross section, but which may vary in form, and inparticular, may be provided with a rounded bottom, to improve the hingeaction presently to be described. Periodically spaced along thefrontwardly facing, side edge 21 of the beam, is a series of verticallydisposed, slots or channels 26, with the same width as channel 24, andopening through the upper and lower faces of the beam, as well as theside edge 21, and of a depth to communicate with lengthwise channel 24-.

The individual hanger rods 28, of a length roughly half the height ofcolumns 14, have transversely bent, upper legs 30, making a angle withthe main body of the rod, and the rod diameter is such as to enablepassage of the main body of the rods through slots 26, in reception ofbent legs 30 in lengthwise channel 24. It will be understood that, inthe embodiment shown, the legs 3i) will necessarily be inserted inchannel 24 prior to securing beam 20 to top piece 12, and that when soassembled, the hangers are fixed to the rack against removal, althoughcapable of swing about the horizontally disposed axis of leg 30. Whilethis construction is preferred, it is also contemplated that sufficientclearance may be provided to enable removal of the hanger from the beam,without detaching the beam, itself, as by increasing the depth ofchannel 24, and leaving a space between the top piece 12 and the topsurface of the beam, in front of channel 24-.

The rods 28 are transversely bent through 90 at their lower, distalends, to provide horizontal legs 32, which serve as a rotation mount forthe ribbon rolls, and the outer ends of legs 32 are upturned in legs 34,which serve to retain the ribbon rolls against accidental removal fromthe supports 32. Typical rolls 36, with coils of ribbon 38 indicated indotted lines, each comprise a pair of cardboard discs, with a central,metallic, bearing hub 39, the central opening 40 of which is ofsufficient diameter to be slipped over the retaining leg 34.

In order to prevent over-running of the rolls, resulting in excesspay-out of the ribbon and possible tangling or snarling, theroll-supporting legs 32 are preferably provided with sleeves 42, ofrubbery material, which introduce a small degree of frictionalresistance to the hub 38. For convenience in mounting, the sleeves 42may have longitudinal slits 44, so that they may be slipped on,radially.

The ribbon rolls are mounted by swinging the hangers 28 away from theirnormal, vertical position, to an angular position, such as shown in thedash lines in FIG- URES 2 and 4, where the lower leg 32 is displacedfrom its normal position an amount greater than the radius of the ribbonroll, so that the latter will clear the line of hangers to enableslipping it on the leg 32. When released, hanger 28 swings back to itsnormal, vertical position, and the roll is ready for dispensing.Normally, pay-out of the ribbon from the roll will take place with thehanger remaining in a vertical position. However, the ribbon will besubjected to jerks from time to time, and with an ordinary, journalmounting, on a fixed rod, this would cause over-running of the spool. Inthe present arrangement, this tendency is defeated by three separatefactors: the loose journalling of the hub, the frictional resistance ofthe rubber sleeve, and the yielding of the hanger in a forward swingingmovement.

In addition to the feature of easy replacement of exhausted rolls,without disturbance to other rolls, it is also possible to remove a rollduring a tying operation, if this becomes necessary or desirable, forany reason.

The rack may be set on a table, or secured to a wall. Preferably it willbe secured to the table, as by screws through the base 10, and it may belocated centrally of the table, so that operators may work from twosides thereof. For wall hanging, the rack should have a length suited tothe usual distance between studs.

The L-form hangers may also be provided in T-shape, with a double leg atthe bottom, so that two rolls may be accommodated on a single hanger.

Besides the purely mechanical advantages mentioned, the rack makes for aneat, and ornamental display, which 4 is in keeping with theenvironment, especially in a floral shop, and tends to enhance salesappeal.

Generally speaking, while a certain preferred embodiment has been shownand described, for purposes of illustration, various modifications willbe apparent, in the light of the present disclosure, and the inventionshould not, therefore, be deemed as limited, except insofar as shallappear from the spirit and scope of the appended claim.

I claim:

A dispensing rack of rolls of ribbon and the like, said rolls insubstantially abutting relationship, said rolls having a central axialopening therein, said rack comprising a hanger-supporting beam and meansfor supporting said beam in face contact with the downwardly dependingface of a parallel surface said beam having a channel throughout itslength in its top face, and also having a series of evenly spaced,lateral slots opening through one side edge, and of sutficient depth tocommunicate with the said channel, hanger rods co-acting with saidchannel and slots, and each comprising a straight portion withtransversely bent end legs, one of said legs being received in saidchannel, said straight portion swingable in one of said slots, about theaxis of said one of said legs in a forwardly direction throughsubstantially a quarter arc of movement from the vertical so as toprevent overrun of each of said rolls when said roll is subjected tomovement about the other of said legs, said other leg having atransversely bent, outer end to prevent any roll from becoming detachedfrom said other of said legs said transversely bent, outer end furtherserving as a spacer element preventing any roll from displacing anadjacent roll when said first mentioned roll is subjected to rotation,about the axis of said other of said legs and a sleeve of frictionalmaterial mounted on said other of said legs.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS588,162 Moore Aug. 17, 1897 1,569,406 Sonntag Jan. 12, 1926 2,058,416Comstock Oct. 27, 1936 2,208,152 Badhorn July 16, 1940

